So Joshua called the twelve men whom he had appointed from the sons of Israel, one man from each tribe; and Joshua said to them, “Cross again to the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan, and each of you take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Israel. Let this be a sign among you, so that when your children ask later, saying, ‘What do these stones mean to you?’ then you shall say to them, ‘Because the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off.’ So these stones shall become a memorial to the sons of Israel forever.”
– Joshua 4:4-7
On occasion we come across a scene that prompts us to ask, “What happened here?” Maybe it is when you are driving along and notice rescue or recovery people working around objects that have been damaged. At times I have come home to find objects scattered, knocked over or otherwise disturbed. (Pets are usually the culprit in such cases.) In some instances the scene is created intentionally. Monuments, statues, and historical signs stand out to us. They have a story to tell. Whatever the case may be, something out of the ordinary grabs our attention and raises our curiosity. We want to know what happened there.
Somewhere east of ancient Jericho, people of past generations would have come across a scene that prompted their curiosity. It was a scene intentionally created in a place known as Gilgal. The answer to the question, “What happened here?” was that the people of Israel (thanks to the faith of the priests who got their feet wet) crossed the Jordan on dry ground by the power of God who stopped the flow of the river. It was an event that every subsequent generation needed to remember. To ensure that people would ask the question, God instructed Joshua to have twelve stones brought from the river to the place where the Israelites first camped in Canaan. God wanted the younger generations to ask the question. God wanted the older generations to tell the story. When God has done a great work, the witness of that work must be preserved. Standing stones were meant to inspire that witness.
For a long time I have thought about how great it would be to go to a place like Gilgal and, if they are still standing, see the stones that Joshua set up. I can imagine the message of the rocks saying, “In real time, in real space, with real people, God showed up and did something awesome.” You might say, “They are just rocks. What’s so special about seeing rocks?” It’s not about the rocks themselves, but rather about the story the rocks tell. They are there as a witness, firm and ready to endure the weathering of time. For anyone who came near, the stones projected their message of God’s acts on behalf of His people. The stones were intended to speak.
If you are a Christian, you are intended to be like those stones. The apostle Peter, after describing us as “living stones” (1 Peter 2:5), says that God has claimed us and prepared us to “proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His glorious light” (1 Peter 2:9). This sounds like what the standing stones were designed to do: proclaim the excellencies of Him who does great things in our midst. Like the stones in Gilgal, we have a story to tell. The Lord Jesus Christ planted his feet in my heart, mastered the torrent of sin that raged, and brought me out of spiritual wilderness into the land of light and life. What people need to know about me but might easily miss is that I am a scene that should cause them to ask, “What happened here?” I could then tell about the amazing, transforming work that God continues to do in me.
Many Christians believe they don’t have a testimony. If that describes you, I encourage you to reconsider. Has there not been a change of heart and life that has happened because of Jesus? Can you point to habits, tendencies and traits that don’t describe you any longer? Please do not minimize what Christ has done to conform you to His image. It is a remarkable work brought about by Divine power. Approach the world with the attitude, “There’s a story to be told here.” Like a standing stone, tell the story.
See you along the Winding Path.
The Winding Path 